# Webinar Recap: How to Choose the Right Prompts for AI Search
Chris Donnelly walks through a repeatable process to go from a single seed keyword to a full prompt landscape your brand can own, covering why prompt research is the foundation of any AI search strategy.
**Published:** March 25, 2026
**Author:** Chris Donnelly
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**Chris Donnelly, CEO and Co-founder, Searchable — March 25, 2026**
ChatGPT processes 2.5 billion queries every single day. Most businesses are not showing up in a single one. In this Searchable webinar, Chris Donnelly broke down why prompt research is the foundation of any AI search strategy, and walked through a repeatable process to go from a single seed keyword to a full prompt landscape your brand can own.
### Watch the full recording
## Top 5 takeaways
1. **Prompts and keywords are not the same thing.** Google queries average 3 to 5 words. AI prompts average 42. That gap changes everything about how you target content.
2. **AI engines cite sources, they do not return links.** If your brand is not being cited, you do not exist in that answer regardless of how well you rank on Google.
3. **Start with your root identity, not individual questions.** A 3 to 5 word phrase that captures what your business fundamentally is unlocks your entire prompt universe.
4. **Customers think in problems, not features.** The prompts people type into AI engines sound like the customer, not the marketer. Your content needs to match that language.
5. **Competitor gaps are where the real opportunity lives.** Most businesses have no idea which prompts their competitors are being cited for while they remain invisible.
## The search landscape has changed
People are no longer just typing keywords into Google. They are asking questions to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. These engines do not return ten blue links. They return one answer and cite a handful of sources.
Google gives users options. AI makes a recommendation. If your brand is not one of those cited sources, you do not exist in that answer. This is already happening at scale.
## Why 42 words changes everything
A 42-word prompt includes who the person is, their situation, their constraints, and the outcome they need. That single prompt tells you more about a buyer than 100 Google searches ever could.
This is why keyword-led content strategies often fail to generate AI citations. The content is written to match topics, not decisions. AI search rewards answers that match decisions.
## Build from your root identity outward
Before any prompt research, a brand needs to know what it fundamentally is in 3 to 5 words. HubSpot: CRM platform. Slack: workplace messaging. Xero: small business accounting software.
That root identity sits at the top of a topic tree. Categories branch out, specific topics sit within those. This structure becomes the backbone of the entire prompt strategy. If you cannot describe your business in 5 words, the AI cannot either.
## Think like a customer, not a marketer
Marketers write: "AI-powered CRM with multi-touch attribution." Customers say: "I keep losing track of which leads I have followed up with." The prompts people type into AI engines sound like the customer every time.
This applies at every level. A junior team member, a manager, and a CEO are each typing completely different prompts into the same AI engine. A business that only creates content for the decision maker is invisible to everyone doing the research that shapes the decision.
## Map 40 to 60 themes before writing a single word
Rather than guessing individual questions, the more reliable approach is building themes first. One theme generates dozens of prompts automatically. Chris walked through 10 categories every business should cover:
- **Service and capability** — what you actually do
- **Use case** — specific situations and scenarios your product solves
- **Access and model** — how people engage with your product or service
- **Location** — where you operate
- **Pricing and value** — cost and ROI questions
- **Comparison** — how people evaluate you against alternatives
- **Segment-specific** — different content for different audience types
- **Problem and pain point** — the underlying need, not the feature
- **Stage and timing** — when someone needs you in their journey
- **Integration and partner** — how your product connects with other tools
The goal is 40 to 60 themes across every vertical the business serves. Get the themes right and the prompts follow naturally.
**Want to run this yourself? The complete 9-step prompt research workflow is free to copy. [Get the Notion template](https://searchable.notion.site/Prompt-Research-Workflow-Template-2099a41dd0c080118e27c75ea91a8d3d)**
## Classify every prompt by intent
Every prompt fits one of three stages. Most businesses invest almost entirely in Purchase content and ignore the earlier stages. That is a mistake. Win Learn and Consider and Purchase becomes significantly easier.
- **Learn** — early stage, exploring. Needs explainers, guides, and video walkthroughs
- **Consider** — comparing options. Needs case studies, reviews, and feature breakdowns
- **Purchase** — ready to act. Needs landing pages, pricing pages, and demos
## Find the gaps where competitors show up and you do not
Run your top 10 to 15 prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. For each one, record who is mentioned, what sources are cited, and what content type is referenced. Build a simple matrix and find the patterns.
- Note every prompt where competitors are cited and you are not
- Identify which content types keep winning: blog posts, comparison pages, third party reviews
- Look beyond company websites. YouTube channels, Reddit threads, G2, Trustpilot, and industry publications are all being cited. Each one is an earned media opportunity
One thing that surprises most teams: the competitors in AI search are often not the same as in Google. A blog or a Reddit thread can outrank a company website for a prompt that matters commercially.
## What is next
The next webinar in the series covers how to find every competitor gap in AI search and close them.
**[April 1st, 4pm BST — Register here](https://www.searchable.com/events/competitor-gaps)**
### Demo
**[Want to run this process at scale? Start your free trial](https://www.searchable.com/signup)**
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